The present invention relates to stents. A stent, generally speaking, is a device that can be placed within a body lumen or interior space for supporting and assuring patency of a lumen. Patency refers to the state of being freely open and is particularly important in the vascular system. The field of angioplasty is concerned with the reconstruction of blood vessels and stents are used, for example, for holding blood vessels open or for back tacking intimal flaps inside the vessels after angioplasty. More generally, however, stents can be used inside the lumina of any physiological conduit including arteries, veins, vessels, the biliary tree, the urinary tract, the elementary tract, the tracheal bronchial tree, the genitourinary system, and the cerebral aqueduct. Stents can be used inside lumina of animals and/or humans.
Stents are generally tubular in structure and are radially expandable between an unexpanded insertion size or circumference and an expanded implantation size or circumference which is greater than the unexpanded insertion size.
An important attribute of a stent is that it be radially compressible and expandable so that it will easily pass through a blood vessel or the like when collapsed and will expand or can be expanded to its implanted size after the implantation location has been reached. It is also desirable that a stent be generally flexible throughout its length so that it is easily maneuverable through bends and curves of the vascular system or the like to reach the implantation site and that the stent be conformable to the vascular site when expanded. It is also typically desirable that a stent have a substantial amount of open space so as to allow for endothelialization along its length to minimize foreign body response and to minimize interference with collateral blood vessels and the like.
There have been introduced various types of stents and various stent designs. Stents are generally categorized as being self-expandable, i.e., which expand by themselves and balloon expandable, i.e., expanded by a balloon inserted inside the stent.
From the view point of materials, stents can be categorized as being made from various metals such as stainless steel, nitinol and from various plastics.
Stents can be made from tubular stock structures from which a desired design may be cut or etched. Also they may be made from wire. Both of these types are well known.
Details of prior art stents can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,697, U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,713, U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,816, U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,295, U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,365, U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,426, U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,480, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,536, U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,872, U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,913, U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,396, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,683.
This invention relates to all of the above-discussed types of stents and incorporates herein by reference all of the above patents specifically identified herein.
It is an object of the invention to provide, as a preferred embodiment, a stent comprised of a helically wound serpentine or undulating structure including curved connecting elements, i.e., curvilinear, which produces closed flexible cells in the expanded form. In combination the flexible cells yield a flexible, conformable stent which expands uniformly and provides good radial strength, scaffolding and fatigue characteristics when expanded.
Stents incorporating the design of the invention are preferably made from wire windings as in the prior art or from tubes such as metal tubes which are etched or laser cut to obtain the desired configuration of the stent in accordance with the invention.
The art referred to and/or described above is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is "prior art" with respect to this invention. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 C.F.R. .sctn.1.56(a) exists.